A special guest post from Mark Green at Malaria No More, in honor of World Malaria Day. Green served as Ambassador to Tanzania from 2007 to 2009 and is a former Congressman. He now directs Malaria No More’s Policy Center in Washington, D.C. and serves on several development and educational organization boards.
Sunday, April 25th is World Malaria Day. I’m a blessed man as I’m spending this World Malaria Day in beautiful Tanzania, standing with leaders in their drive to combat this disease.
For too long, malaria has cast a long shadow over Africa. Over two thousand children die each day because of malaria. That’s one child every 40 seconds. Those that manage to survive the disease often face lifelong disabilities and challenges. In a part of the world where there is no government safety net—no Medicaid or disability—hundreds of thousands of families struggle to find ways to care for the sick and disabled.
Tanzania has long been one of the nations hardest hit by malaria. As I look out on Dar Es Salaam, the capital city, I feel both sadness and pride. The pride is because with help from the American people, African leaders have made real progress against malaria in the past few years. The sadness is because malaria still casts a shadow on people I talk to here every day.
The first World Malaria Report, released in 2005, documented that well over a million people died every year from malaria. That number is now estimated to be less than 900,000. Hundreds of thousands of people have been saved by interventions and treatments supported by organizations like the United States President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and most importantly, African governments and non-governmental organizations.
This progress is not just progress for Tanzania or Africa—but for the US as well. In a time when the world’s economy has struggled, there are few humanitarian investments that can produce the economic results that ending malaria will. Malaria costs Africa $12 billion a year. Families lose work hours, days at school and disposable income through the affects of this disease.
What most Americans don’t realize is that investments like PMI and the Global Fund aren’t just of benefit to the people of Africa, they also benefit us. When I served as Ambassador to Tanzania and held a “townhall” in a tough area for the US, I was asked by an activist why America “abuses its power?”
I answered that question with one of my own. “What is the number one killer of your children?” The answer was malaria. I then asked him, “Who is doing more than the United States to fight malaria?” The murmurs and nodding of heads spoke volumes on how powerful our foreign assistance work can be diplomatically.
The malaria numbers are changing for the better. Every day more people are being saved from this terrible disease. On World Malaria Day this Sunday, I will be proud to be an American. I’m proud of the difference we’re making in the world. As I often told people when I served as Ambassador, the great untold story in conquering malaria and lifting lives in Africa is the generosity of the American people. There are good people all over the United States who are sending some of their hard earned dollars to people they’ve never met, in places they have never been….all because they care.
Yesterday, USAID announced the US government’s 6-year strategy to combat malaria globally. The strategy, which will be implemented through the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), is timed to coincide with World Malaria Day.
The new USG strategy works toward the goal of halving malaria illnesses and deaths in 70 percent of at-risk populations in sub-Saharan Africa, by accelerating malaria prevention and treatment efforts, building national capacities, and strengthening key health systems. The strategy also outlines contributions to curtail the spread of antimalarial multi-drug resistance in Southeast Asia and South America and to increase emphasis on strategic integration of malaria prevention and treatment activities with programs for maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, neglected tropical diseases, and tuberculosis.
“Sustainability of malaria control programs is a critical goal of U.S. efforts,” said Rear Adm. Tim Ziemer, U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator. “The United States is focusing on building capacity within host countries by training people to manage, deliver, and support the delivery of health services, which will be critical for sustained successes against infectious diseases.”
The USG vision for long-term malaria control is consistent with that of the Roll Back Malaria partnership’s Global Malaria Action Plan’s strategy to achieve and sustain reductions in worldwide malaria deaths and illness over the next 10 to 15 years. The U.S. will continue to work within national control strategies and fund national malaria control plans to ensure country ownership and sustainability.
On Monday I was in New York City for the launch of an important report charting Africa’s progress in the fight against malaria and the major efforts still needed. Released by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM) and UNICEF, World Malaria Day 2010: Africa Update shows that increased funding for malaria control programs has resulted in significant reductions in the malaria burden in a number of countries, including Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Zambia, and Zanzibar.
Global malaria control funding has jumped from $0.3 billion in 2003 to nearly $1.7 billion in 2009. The report credits the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the single largest funder of malaria control efforts at 2/3 of all resources), the World Bank, the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and others for this significant increase in resources. However, the report also highlights the fact that funding still falls short of the $6 billion required in 2010 by the Global Malaria Action Plan (GMAP) for the implementation of global malaria control interventions.
Over the period 2004 to 2009, malaria investments have helped to increase the global production of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) five-fold to 150 million, and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) procurement 30-fold to 160 million.
There were approximately 250 million cases of malaria in 2008, resulting in 850,000 deaths, 90 percent of which occurred in Africa, mainly among children under five years of age. An estimated 1 in every 6 child deaths (16 percent) in Africa is due to malaria.
Panelists at the event, including Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer, Head of the President’s Malaria Initiative and U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator, and Dr. Robert Newman, Director of the World Health Organization’s Global Malaria Program, called for expanded access to rapid diagnostic tests for malaria and effective ACT treatment, in addition to preventative interventions. Dr. Newman reported that 29 countries were still using ineffective monotherapeis, and he called this the greatest threat to increasing drug resistance.
Add another important name to the fight against malaria.
For the very first time, the Archbishop of Canterbury (the head of the Church of England) recorded a message for World Malaria Day to show his support and urge others to help kick malaria out for good. He made the message in support of United Against Malaria, a diverse coalition that aims to raise global awareness and renew worldwide commitment to ending malaria.
Here’s an excerpt of the Archbishop’s message. You can listen to his full remarks in the video below.
“One of the things that I was taught when I was growing up was that among the greatest achievements of modern science was the identification of where malaria came from. That was many years ago and in the intervening years, tragically the challenge of malaria has grown worse not better…But we do have the resources to eliminate malaria. The goal has been set for getting rid of malaria and on this World Malaria Day it’s important to remember that goal.”
Crafting your weekend plans? Well, don’t forget to add “Celebrate World Malaria Day” to your calendar this Sunday, April 25.
If you’re not sure how to join in, then don’t miss this website. Roll Back Malaria—a global partnership founded in 1998 to help tackle malaria across the globe—has a great website filled with malaria posters; videos of world leaders, soccer stars and celebrities speaking out in the fight against the disease; fact sheets and reports; a look at the Global Malaria Action Plan; a round-up of partner statements and press releases in honor of World Malaria Day 2010; and a long list of events taking place in the US and across the globe.
You can check out the site here. And with so much going on, you might just want to pencil in a quick nap this weekend, too.
My good friend and colleague Adam Phillips has an article in Relevant Magazine today looking at the challenges and opportunities posed by malaria as we get ready to commemorate World Malaria Day this weekend.
The opening of the article is below; you can read the full piece here.
It’s pretty simple. We can end senseless deaths from malaria by 2015. It just takes each of us doing our part.
For millions of people around the world, a simple mosquito bite still means death. Every year, malaria kills nearly 900,000 people—mostly children, infants and pregnant women. Ninety percent of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
But this doesn’t have to be the case. I just got back from a trip to Ghana, where they have cut malaria deaths in half in recent years. Part of this success is due to President George W. Bush’s President’s Malaria Initiative, which helped ensure that more than 1 million bed nets were distributed across the country, and leadership from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
To get us to the finish line—an end to unnecessary malaria deaths—everyone, from church leaders, elected officials, businesses, even Ghana’s national soccer team, the Black Stars, are doing their part.
The weekend of World Malaria Day—April 23, 24 and 25—people of faith will take action by holding a ONE Sabbath event. These events will rally individuals and congregations to raise awareness and advocate on behalf of people living in extreme poverty and struggling against preventable diseases, including malaria.
Congregations across the country are making this challenge their own. Some will be raising awareness by showing a clip of the film When the Night Comes, produced by Bobby Bailey (Invisible Children) with United Against Malaria (see a clip of the documentary here). It’s a powerful message of what we can do when we work together.
This Sunday, April 25 is World Malaria Day, a moment to continue to build momentum behind efforts that are beating back this entirely preventable and treatable disease.
On World Malaria Day and throughout 2010, ONE is part of a global partnership called United Against Malaria, which brings together other nonprofits, corporations, athletes, celebrities, government officials and grassroots activists to kick the world into high gear to end deaths from malaria. The project, which is playing off the popularity of soccer, especially the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, will have many activities going on around the world this week and more ways to get involved throughout the summer.
One of the coolest elements of United Against Malaria is a new film documentary called “When the Night Comes.” Directed by Bobby Bailey, founder of the organization Invisible Children, the film is an entertaining, emotional and insightful look at the devastating effect of malaria in Africa and how it can be beat. Among others, ONE’s President and CEO David Lane is featured in the film (check out the video clip below).
You can watch the film yourself or check the film’s facebook page for future screenings and more info. A clip from the film is also being featured in ONE Sabbath events on World Malaria Day this Sunday.
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On Monday I was in New York City for the launch of an important report charting Africa’s progress in the fight against malaria and the major efforts still needed. Released by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM) and UNICEF, 
